Just did my fourth treatment of Ixempra on Monday. I was originally scheduled for a week ago Friday but we got nailed by a nasty snowstorm and there was no way I was gonna chance driving in it. Although most of his staff was there, Dr. D. didn’t even make it to the clinic. Completely snowed in. So I rescheduled.

Given the fact that my numbers are in such a positive drop, I was rather eager to get on with the remaining treatments. I did confirm with Dr. D. that there will be six in all. So, after the one I just did, I have two more to go. Once we’re done with the Ixempra, I’m not quite sure what maintenance treatment we’ll go with. Obviously, I cannot just finish the Ixempra and expect the cancer to go its merry way. It appears to be rather tenacious with me and wants to hang around. Sorta like that houseguest who just doesn’t know when its time to get out. This particular houseguest has been hanging around for thirteen years.

I think I’ll make it my New Year’s Resolution to stay healthy this year. These past six or seven years have been difficult with some recurrence or other going on. So this year I’d like to have at least one clean year … and maybe another … and maybe another. Oh, hell, let’s get greedy. The Ixempra is gonna do the trick and I’ll go into remission for the next forty years.

I like the sound of that.

And Remember …“YOU ARE A CANCER WINNER”

I tried writing on Sunday afternoon. My daughter had a friend over and they tried to stay out of my way … somewhat unsuccessfully. Doesn’t matter. I knew they were lurking about and this was a distraction. There’s just something about writing in the middle of the night when its quiet and you know darned well that no one else is awake. Its so peaceful.

Still, it took me awhile, but I was finally able to block out the distractions and was able to get in three of four pages. This is more than I’d managed in about a week. Gotta admit, that I did get up briefly on Saturday morning (1:00 a.m.) and got in a couple of paragraphs … maybe even the 100 words advocated by C.L. Wilson.

Tomorrow might be a red letter day for writing. I have chemo tomorrow and that’s about five hours of sitting in a recliner. Primo time to bring my laptop and get some work done. I’ll give it a try and see how productive I can be during that time. I’m so close to finishing this book that I can taste it. So who knows … this five hours might enable me to either finish it … or get a good jump at wrapping it up.

Wish me luck.

The other day I watched a terrific movie … “The Bucket List” starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. This is a story of two men who went through cancer and was finally both told that they had about six months to a year to live. They decided to create a “bucket list”. In other words, things they’d always wanted to do before they “kick the bucket”.

I find the concept fascinating. They had stuff like sky-diving, bringing joy to someone’s life, seeing something majestic … a whole slew of things. Turns out that Jack Nicholson’s character was rich enough to allow these two men to achieve their goals. The movie was both funny and poignant. Yes, I cried at the end when both men eventually died, but there was such a sense of achievement at their accomplishments.

It also made me think about what my bucket list would be. Yes, I’d like to try sky-diving, scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, see the great wonders of the world. I’d want to travel the world and the states to see all those friends I never find time to go see.

You would think that if you were given six months to live that you would want to spend it all with the people you love. Yes, I would, but by the same token, how would they treat you? With kid gloves, careful of everything they say or do? Hell, I’d insist on nasty death jokes and having fun at my expense.

So, what would be on your bucket list? I’d be interested to know.

And Remember …“YOU ARE A CANCER WINNER”

I have to admit that sometimes the writers life can be depressing. We work hard, hemorrhaging our brains for new ideas and the perfect phrase, meet rejection after rejection and always seem to come back for more.

Can anyone say masochist? I know a lot of writers … most of whom hold full time jobs and manage to eke out time to get in a little writing. I also know a few writers who have made writing a full time career. I consider them lucky.

My belief is that until I manage to make the same amount of money with my writing as I do with my full time job, I can’t dump the day job. The way things are going … I won’t be dumping my day job for awhile. Granted, I only have two books out and I know that in order to gain any sort of success in this line of work, you have to keep your name out there. You also have to produce the next book … which means you have to find the time to write, which is difficult when you’re juggling a full time, family … yadda, yadda, yadda. And so the cycle goes.

I have no doubt that I will someday be a full time writer. I’m determined enough. It will just take hard work and perseverance … which is where that masochist title comes in.

Nope, they didn’t make do any more scans … yet. That’s something that will come in the near future to check over everything and see if the cancer has been licked once again. A scan, such as a PET, CT or an MRI is a mild inconvenience when you have to do it once in awhile, but tends to be a major PITA if you have to have them frequently, such as one or all three more than once a year. Especially the PET scan. They shoot up with some sort of radioactive dye. I swear I’m gonna start glowing one of these years.

No, the test results came from a call I received from Dr. D. yesterday on my cell phone. Naturally I must have been away from my desk at the time because I didn’t get the call. (Damn … and that’s exactly why I leave my cell phone sitting on top of my desk rather than buried in my purse. So I wouldn’t miss calls like this. That worked well … sarcasm intended).

Anyway, Dr. D. called to let me know that he got the results of the blood work they did on the tumor markers. (Didn’t even know they were checking that last week. SURPRISE!). Evidently with a starting point of 218, my CA27.29 is down to 92. And this after only three treatments of chemo. I can fully expect a bigger drop as my chemo continues. Woo-Hoo!!!

So this is a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!

And Remember …“YOU ARE A CANCER WINNER”